The secular trends in height and weight of Turkish school children during 1993-2003

Background Secular changes in growth and development can be considered as the changing pattern of somatic development of children in a particular population from one generation to another. Developing countries, which have many changes in socio-economical conditions, reveal various trends in growth. The aims of this study were to analyse growth trends in weight and height of Turkish children from a school in Ankara over the period 1993-2003 with 10-year time interval, and to determine the relation between secular trends. Methods Anthropometric measurements of 1214 children and adolescents (611 boys and 603 girls) aged between 7 and 15 years from Ankara, Turkey, obtained cross sectionally in 2003 were compared with measurements of 867 school children (451 boys and 416 girls) from a previous study which had been obtained in the same primary school in 1993. For 7-15 years of age the increments of weight and height were determined, and analysed statistically. Results In 2003 survey boys and girls were taller and heavier than their peers from previous study in all age groups. For all cohorts in boys from 7 to 15 years, weight increments between 2.7 and 6.3 kg/decade and height increments between 1.7 and 5.5 cm/decade were demonstrated. For girls in the same cohorts, weight increments between 2.8 and 6.5 kg/decade and height increments between 1.8 and 5.7 cm/decade were indicated. Both weight and height increments suggest an upward displacement of growth curves in this interval of 10 years. Conclusion A significant secular increase in weight and height measurements were found in 7-15-year-old boys and girls in Ankara. These secular increases can be explained with improvements in social and health indicators that reflect the overall health status of the population. The secular increases in growth of Turkish school children may reveal updates of growth standards.